Peter's Place

Pete Quinn loved to run. He ran the Chicago Marathon in 2010 & Bix7 race over 25 times. On the morning of April 16th, 2011 he was training for the Chicago Marathon. Pete was excited about starting his dream job on Monday. As he walked across a street, he was hit by a speeding van running the red light. He flew 30 ft suffering a spinal cord injury. After 1 month in the hospital and 2 months in rehab, he is now home. Pete is continuing rehab daily. This blog will update you on his progress.

Here I am with Christine Powills at the Alexian Brothers Rehabilitation facility. I am finally up and walking in my KAFOs. What is unique here is that I can now advance the right leg fairly well while doing so without a slider on my shoe. Thank God! I also now have freakish upper body strength, a little different from my long distance running physique.

I would like to introduce you to Dr. Greg Brown he is my metabolic doctor. He has gone to great lengths to help me recover strength and endurance that I lost due to my injuries. I strongly suggest you see him if you have any health issues. There was so much wrong with me that doctors missed and never thought of but Dr. Brown found and addressed. Modern medicine today is years behind but Dr. Brown is not.

I want to thank my brother Paul and his wife Nancy for purchasing the Saratoga cycle for me.

I found it by using All of Craigslist and discovered it was in Phoenix at a resale shop not far from their home. Against my wishes they went to check it out and of course they bought it and shipped it to me. The good thing is that it was a fraction of what it would cost new and it is in really good condition.

Here is one of my Knee Ankle Foot Orthotics (KAFO) that I am looking foward to wearing soon.

They have been modified extensively from the original design and now allow me to unlock them from a standing position. If you look closely you can see a white strap on the back of the thigh area that will allow me to do this. The heal area, which has caused me problems, has been expanded to allow for more protection.

I want to thank everyone for everything they did for my family on Saturday. The weather was beautiful, and I am confident the water was cold! It was amazing how the Lakeview Polar Bear Club helped us get right down to the shore. When I am able I will also participate in the Plunge, and I look forward to that day.

I want to share a few of the photos I have from the 2013 Lakeview Polar Bear Club Plunge.

Below is a picture of Mary Cate and her mother Kerry. Along with her husband Chris, they were the other family sponsored:

Please visit Mary Cate's website and remember her and her wonderful family in your prayers.

Here is a picture of my sister Jane and my children right after she emerged from the lake.

This shot is of Stu Vieth, the great guy who asked the Lakeview Polar Bear Club to sponsor us.

This last picture shows just a few of the many plungers. This was such an amazing event and thank you all, especially Brian Marchal!

People have asked me what was put into my body after my injury. Well I have quite a bit of titanium all over the place.

This first picture is of my right tibua. It was smashed when I jumped up on the hood of the minivan that hit me. The titanium rod was put in to support the bone
by Dr.
Matthew Jimenez.He is a great guy
who genuinely cared about me and my family. He not only runs marathons but
ultramarathons too!

This photo is of my spine from a side view. This surgery lasted over 4 hours. The metal put in my spine is designed to make sure it doesn't move over time and to release pressure. Dr. Thomas Gleason performed the operation. I will never forget how nice he was to my wife and family. I wish more doctors were like him.

If you look off to the top right of
this picture, you can see many white lines. These white lines are titanium
clips put on my lymphatic system to stop leakage.

The tremendous impact of the
minivan on my body not only caused the damage you just read about, but it also
collapsed my right lung, broke all my ribs on my right side, lacerated my
liver, ruptured my spkeen, and caused my lymphatic system to tear. This rip caused
the lymphatic system to leak. Suffice it to say the leakage was serious enough
to operate on. I had operations and diet changes to correct it but none worked. Finally,
we decided to simply go in and clip any potential leakage points off. The surgery,
which lasted over 5 hours, was done by Dr. Axel Joob who was the most colorful individual I
remember from my hospital days at Advocate Lutheran General. He has a great sense of humor and was nice to be around.

One last Dr.
from this hospital I want to mention is Dr. Marin Marinov. He stabilized me in the Emergency Room
and helped to save my life.